UFC on ESPN 1 took place Sunday, February 17, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The card was headlined by a marquee heavyweight bout between former champion Cain Velasquez and Francis Ngannou.
Closing odds are courtesy of Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
Cynthia Calvillo surprised her opponent by utilizing a striking heavy attack to land the bigger punches to win a decision over Cortney Casey. Calvillo closed -345. Casey closed +275
In his UFC debut, Kron Gracie landed a few strikes early and quickly was able to get Alex Caceres in the opening round. Gracie closed -300 with the return on Caceres +240
In one of the best UFC bouts in some time, Bryan Barbarena and Vicente Luque put on a striking showcase. In the back and forth contest, Luque landed a devastating knee in the final seconds and followed up with punches to earn the TKO victory with just six seconds left in the bout. Luque closed -458 while Barbarena closed +348
Manny Bermudez was able to get Benito Lopez quickly to the mat. On the ground, he did what he does best and that is submit opponents. Bermudez earned yet another first round submission victory. Bermudez closed -180. Lopez closed +150
Andrea Lee out struck Ashlee Evans-Smith in all three rounds to take an easy decision and continue her way up the rankings. Lee closed -180 while Evans-Smith closed +150
After taking quite a bit of damage in the opening round, Luke Sanders came out firing in round two dropping Renan Barao and finishing him with punches on that mat. Sanders closed -147 while Barao closed +117
Underdogs that Won
Francis Ngannou landed some punches against the cage and then an upper cut to drop Cain Velasquez. Ngannou followed up with strikes on the ground to get the finish and the biggest win of his career. Ngannou closed +160 while Velasquez closed -220
Paul Felder emphasized the calf kick to the lead leg to slow down his opponent and combined that with timely combination work to the head to out strike James Vick to win a unanimous decision. Felder closed -105 while Vick closed -125
Andre Fili’s jab was precise throughout the fight and it was the key difference between him and Myles Jury as he won a 29-28 decision on all three scorecards. Fili closed +119. Jury closed -149
Aljamain Sterling utilized a combination of range striking and physical grappling to dominate his bout with top five bantamweight Jimmie Rivera and win 30-27 decision across the board. Sterling closed +110 while Rivera closed -140
Nik Lentz forced Scott Holtzman to the cage and continuously worked for takedowns to win rounds a deserved decision. Lentz closed +134 with the return on Holtzman -164
Pickem Fighters that Won
Emily Whitmire secured an early takedown of Alexsandra Albu and quickly converted it to a rear naked choke to win by submission in just 61 seconds. Whitmire and Albu both closed -115
